


The One That Got Away

by MonsieurBlueSky (MyChemicalRachel)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Established Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, High School Reunion, Lydia-centric, Multi, the lydia/jackson part isn't happy, they are the definition of unhealthy relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:06:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24194026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyChemicalRachel/pseuds/MonsieurBlueSky
Summary: Attending her fifteen year high school reunion, Lydia has a lot of regrets. One of those regrets shows up in the form of Stiles Stilinski; the one that got away.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore
Comments: 6
Kudos: 363





	The One That Got Away

The high school was lit up like a firework on the Fourth of July. There were banners and streamers, glistening lights strung by the front entrance, leading down the hallway to the open gymnasium. There, more lights hung like a beacon. Beckoning and welcoming, all screaming Welcome Back Class Of 2011!

Lydia had once been a ruler of these halls. A queen, and the high school was her kingdom. Beautiful, popular, intelligent, compelling; She was a force to be reckoned with.

Staring down the long hallway now, it seems endless.

Jackson tugs impatiently on her arm. “Come on,” He grumbles. “We’re already late.”

Lydia smiles flippantly. “Fashionably.”

She’d rather be anywhere but here. She follows her husband anyway.

The gymnasium is a massive sea of faces she barely recognizes, all aged and worn with adulthood. Tired. She understands the feeling.

When she left high school at the top of her class, she had plans. Big plans. The world was her playground and she was ready to embrace everything it had to offer. She’d accepted a hefty scholarship from MIT, prepared to go into mathematics, and… then she married Jackson.

It was too early, her parents said. She was fresh out of high school, barely eighteen, but she was in love and she read far too many romance novels to pass up her happy ending. But marriage wasn’t the end; It was only the beginning.

She’d barely started her second year of college when Jackson suggested she drop out. Cashing in a collection of savings bonds when he turned eighteen, Jackson decided that Lydia didn’t need to obtain a degree, didn’t need to work at all. Ever. In her entire life. It was mostly for his pride, Lydia suspects, and after some persuasion, she relented. She gave up her scholarship, she dropped out of classes, and she became a stay at home wife. Until almost a year later when Jackson decided he wanted a child, then she became a stay at home mom.

Lydia loves being a mom. She loves her children. Sometimes she thinks her kids are the only reason she stays with Jackson. But she knows, in the back of her mind, that’s not totally true. Her life revolved around Jackson now. She was thirty-three years old and she’d never had a single job. She woke up early to make Jackson breakfast, fix his coffee just the way he liked it. She took care of their children, made sure they were fed and cleaned and off to school on time. She drove them to soccer practice and ballet. She cleaned, sometimes more than once a day just to have something to do.

In all honesty, Lydia doesn’t think she would last very long without Jackson. But she stopped loving him a long time ago. She suspects he feels the same, because she knows he’s been screwing his secretary for at least six months.

Lydia fakes a lot of smiles that night. She makes sure to show everyone the massive rock on her wedding ring, tells people she hasn’t spoken to since high school how well she’s doing for herself. She shows a couple of people pictures of her kids; Alex twelve, Stephen eight, and Molly and Holly five. She watches people coo, tell her how adorable they are and how happy they are that Lydia and Jackson stayed together. Prom king and queen, still together fifteen years later.

Lydia hates it.

And then Stiles arrives. She assumes he’s been there for a while, loitering near the edge of the gymnasium. He’s talking to someone she sort of recalls, but her sights are set on Stiles.

Lydia knew that, all throughout high school, Stiles was infatuated with her. She had boys and girls fawning over her just by smiling in their direction, and Stiles Stilinski was no exception. He was smart, second in the class behind her. He played lacrosse with Jackson, but never well enough to warrant her attention. He had this goofy grin that could light up an entire room. In high school, he was lanky and awkward, fidgety and nervous. Now he seems to have grown into his skin, holding his head high, radiating confidence, and his smile seems more contagious than goofy.

She makes a beeline for him. He’s laughing when she approaches, but it dwindles as his full focus comes to her. His grin only widens. “Whoa, Lydia Martin. I haven’t seen you in years.”

“Fifteen to be exact,” Lydia smiles. “And it’s actually Whittemore now.”

Stiles’ gaze flits around somewhere behind her, probably scoping out her husband. Stiles and Jackson never got along in high school, which explains his grimace. “Really? Well, um… Congrats. You look fantastic. Hard to believe you had kids. Scott told me you had three, right?”

“Four,” Lydia corrects. Shrugs, like pushing out four kids is no big deal.

Stiles looks impressed. “Wow.” He gestures to the tables along the wall. “Do you maybe want to grab a seat? We can catch up.”

Lydia allows Stiles to lead her to a secluded table near the door. It’s farther away from the speakers here, blaring out music from their youth that makes her cringe now, and she appreciates the quiet. The lights dance in Stiles’ bright eyes and Lydia finds herself captivated.

It does something to her, some ache in her heart or stomach. A distant yearning. Why didn’t she appreciate him sooner?

Maybe this is her second chance. She didn’t pay attention to him in high school, though she knows she should have. He was a sweet, caring, genuinely nice guy who was interested in her. And she blew him off for a cocky smirk and arrogance. But maybe tonight she can find a second chance with Stiles.

“What are you doing now?” Stiles wonders, leaning his elbows on the table. “You went to MIT, right? How was that?”

Lydia’s smile falters. “I dropped out,” She admits. For some reason, she feels the need to be honest with Stiles. He won’t judge her, or laugh at her, or take pity on her. He’s real, and Lydia needs that right now. “Jackson wanted to feed his ego, prove he could take care of me, so I never finished college. I’m a stay at home mom now.”

Stiles frowns. “That’s too bad. I always had this idea that you would use your crazy math skills to save the world. Maybe you still will one day.”

Lydia waves a hand at that. Suddenly she wants to talk about anything else. “Enough about me. What are you up to these days?”

“I live in New York now,” Stiles beams, obviously relieved to move on to happier subjects. “I just came back for the reunion, and it’s always nice to see my dad. I’m a detective there. I help the local police with criminal analysis and profiling.”

Lydia feels a surge of jealousy. She recalls Stiles’ dad, the local Sheriff here in Beacon Hills, how Stiles always wanted to follow in his footsteps. And it seems he did. “I bet your dad is really proud of you.”

“Yeah,” Stiles laughs, ducking his head. “He was worried at first, being in such a big city, but he eventually came around to the idea.”

“How’d you end up in New York?” Lydia wonders. “Did you go to school there?”

Stiles shakes his head. “I went to UCLA, even worked with the Los Angeles PD for a year before I moved to New York.”

“So why New York? LA didn’t have enough action for you?”

Stiles laughs again. “LA was great. That’s where I met Derek.”

Lydia frowns. That sounds romantic, but if he met this Derek fellow in LA, how did Stiles end up in New York? Did a bad breakup make Stiles want to flee clear across the country? “Derek? Who is Derek?”

“That’d be me,” a voice says, making Lydia jump. She forgot for a moment where they were, that there were other people here. And right now, the person standing next to the table is a tall man she doesn’t recognize. There’s a scruffy beard on his face looking to be in early stages of growth and impressive eyebrows arched over breathtaking green eyes.

The man-- Derek, apparently-- slides into the seat next to Stiles. He stretches an arm across the table, offering his hand for Lydia to shake. “Derek Hale. And judging by the gorgeous strawberry blonde hair and piercing, soul-seeing emerald eyes, I’m going to guess you’re Lydia.”

Lydia shakes the hand cautiously, glancing at Stiles. “Yes. Have we met?”

Derek shakes his head, casting a smile in Stiles’ direction. “No, Stiles used to talk about you a lot.”

Stiles waves his hands around, just like he did in high school, and a blush rises in his cheeks. “We’re not talking about that. As I was saying, this is Derek. The reason I moved to New York. He took a couple classes at UCLA during my last year of college. When school was over, he went back to New York and I stayed. We tried the long distance thing, but it just wasn’t working for us.”

Derek smiles softly. “So you moved to New York to be with me.”

Stiles grins. “And we’ve been together ever since. I’m like a leech; I just attach myself and never leave.”

Derek rolls his eyes, but the smile never disappears from his face even as his gaze slides back over to Lydia. “Stiles used to tell me about you. You were his first love, you know.”

Stiles shoves his arm, but doesn’t deny it. Instead, he leans forward to rest his elbows on the table, offering a shameless shrug. “What can I say? I guess I have a type.”

“Well, as tragic as it was for Stiles at the time,” Derek continues, amused, “I have to say I’m pretty glad you two never worked out.”

Stiles grabs his chest dramatically, leaning back as if preparing himself for impact, and exclaims, “God, could you even imagine, Lydia?”

And for a brief moment, Lydia does imagine it.

She thinks of going away to MIT while Stiles remained in California to attend UCLA. A long distance relationship would have been tough but maybe, she thought, he would have followed her. Stiles was smart. He could have gotten into MIT if he’d tried.

Not just in intelligence though, Stiles would have been able to match her in wit. They’d have made a hell of a power couple, in a much different way than she and Jackson did.

She would have finished college, that’s for certain. Wouldn’t have gotten married right out of high school.

They might have had kids, eventually.

And tonight, if they had ended up together, she’d be sitting on the other side of this table, telling someone else their epic love story.

Instead, she’s listening to Stiles and Derek regaling tales of their love while Lydia wonders what her life could have been if only she had seen what was in front of her before. If only she hadn’t taken him for granted, been wrapped up in her own head, in Jackson’s head.

The night ends early for Lydia when Jackson finds her alone once again, Stiles and Derek having their attention pulled away to another group of old acquaintances dressed as friends. His hand pulls at his tie while a frown tugs at his lips. “I’m ready to go,” he says.

That’s how it’s always been. Jackson calls and she answers.

She crosses her arms, staring out at the floor where the teenagers she once ruled as queen meander, now slaves of adulthood. They smile and laugh and she knows that at least some of them are as miserable as she is, though they hide it well.

She’s so sick of pretending.

Lydia turns to her husband, the first genuine smile of the night landing on her face. “Jackson,” she says, “I want a divorce.”

Jackson just stares at her, like maybe he didn’t hear her right. “What?”

“A divorce,” Lydia repeats, and the words feel like a breath of fresh air. All these years, stuck, drowning, and she’s finally breaking free from the waves. So she says it again. “I want a divorce. Oh,” she inclines her head as the song on the speakers changes to a slow one. It was popular years ago, one she thinks she recalls hearing at senior prom. Or was it homecoming? Back then it was all so important, and now…

She looks to the floor where couples have started gathering to dance along. It seems this song holds a memory for them all.

Near the center of the floor, she spots Derek and Stiles.

“I’ll call a lawyer in the morning,” she tells Jackson. “Tonight, I’m gonna have fun. Don’t wait up, okay?”

Jackson is still sputtering when she slips away.

As she approaches, she can hear Stiles and Derek laughing in low voices. She taps Derek on the shoulder and the couple stops. “Do you mind if I cut in?”

Derek smiles and Stiles says, “Sorry, dude. I told you, the chicks here dig me.” He reaches out to Lydia, but she shakes her head.

“Not you, hot stuff. I was wondering if I could have a dance with Derek here.”

Derek’s eyebrows go up, not expecting this, and Stiles looks affronted.

“Don’t worry,” Lydia promises. “I’ll save a dance for you, too.”

“Alright,” he says. “Carry on, my loves.”

With that, Lydia steps closer to Derek. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” he nods, and together they start to sway.

It’s a few moments before Lydia gathers the courage to speak again and Derek must feel it building because he waits quietly. Eventually, Lydia says, “You’re lucky to have Stiles.”

Pink spreads across Derek’s cheeks, or maybe it’s just the lighting, but he ducks his head bashfully. “Trust me, I know.”

“I took advantage of him in school,” Lydia continues. “Looking back, I know I would give anything to go back and change my mind. Tell myself to stop being so materialistic. Choose him instead of Jackson. But I can’t, and I know it’s too late now.”

She looks up at Derek because she doesn’t want this to come across the wrong way, like she’s trying to come between them. “I’m really glad he has you,” she says. “He deserves someone who loves him.”

“You know, I used to think love was just in books and movies,” Derek tells her. “It was something that happened to other people. And then I met Stiles and… I don’t know what I would do without him. He makes me feel like no one has ever made me feel. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Lydia smiles and she follows Derek’s gaze to where Stiles has managed to inject himself between Scott and his wife, the three of them moving as one on the dance floor.

Derek uses his shoulder to jostle her arm until she looks back to him. His bright eyes are sincere when he says, “You deserve someone that makes you feel that way, Lydia. Someone you love, who loves you back just as much.”

The song ends as quietly as it had begun, replaced by something more upbeat. Couples around them break apart but neither Derek or Lydia move.

“He’s the one that got away,” Lydia says wistfully. “I was just too stupid to see it before.”

“There will be more,” Derek assures her. “You’re stunning, Stiles was absolutely right about that. And from what else he’s told me, you’re crazy smart, funny, and clever.”

It’s been so long since anyone has described her in such a way that made her feel like herself again. A long time ago, she’d broken herself down to become what Jackson wanted her to be.

But she didn’t have to be that person anymore.

“I could go back to school,” she muses. “Get my engineering degree. I wanted to work at NASA.”

“What’s stopping you?” Derek asks.

And she realizes the answer to that is nothing. Not Jackson, not her responsibility to her kids, not herself. Nothing is stopping her.

Back when she’d gone to school here, she had ruled the hallways. Now, as she looks around at the faces she once knew, she realizes that not a single one of them means anything. They’re strangers, even the one reflecting back in the window.

She used to know exactly who she was, what she wanted, and she would have done anything to get there.

She thinks, maybe if she tries, she could be something similar to that person again. Not the same girl she was in high school, but a new version of herself. Someone stronger, fiercer, smarter, and older. Someone she has longed to be for a very long time.

As she watches from a distance as Derek and Stiles begin to dance once more, Lydia smiles. They fit together so well. Perfect in a way that she doesn’t think her and Stiles ever would have been.

Derek was right; there would be more people in her future, more possibilities and opportunities. And Stiles wasn’t it; as much as he had tried, he wasn’t the one Lydia loved.

Maybe he wasn’t the one who got away after all. Maybe the real person Lydia let get away in the place was herself. She’d lost all sense of  _ her  _ among everything Jackson wanted her to be, she’d become this person she hardly recognized and wholeheartedly despised.

She smiles as Derek pulls Stiles in close, kissing him. She deserves that, she thinks. She deserves a happy ending.

But a happy ending could wait. She wasn’t yet ready for the end.

After all, this was only the beginning.


End file.
